


Smokescreen

by solar_celeste



Series: Scorched Earth [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: CPS, Child Neglect, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Depression, Self Confidence Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:40:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24986944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solar_celeste/pseuds/solar_celeste
Summary: If it took a facade of contentment to get even the shortest of moments alone, Damian was willing to fasten his mask and fake it.-Sequel to “Even Ashes Burn in Wildfires” where Damian tries to get used to his “new normal” while hiding his messy jumble of emotions from his overprotective older siblings.
Relationships: Damian Wayne & Everyone, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne
Series: Scorched Earth [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1742569
Comments: 87
Kudos: 606





	1. Transition

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the delay but I’ve been enjoying the newly permitted outdoor seating at my local restaurants just a little too much :)

The penthouse had felt more like home to Damian than any other place ever had, including the manor. Wayne manor had always been too empty; too cold and dark. The penthouse was the opposite. It was his and Richard’s: filled with memories of many firsts- Damian’s first steaming mug of hot chocolate, his first movie night, his first bowl of sugary cereal, his first  _ hug _ and -most importantly- it was where Damian had first felt  _ safe. _

It was a sacred place, and a cherished one, but it did nothing to soothe Damian when he and Richard entered it’s stifling atmosphere that night. 

It was painfully obvious that the penthouse had not been utilized in some time, and that the air was old and stuffy. Damian had seen that Grayson had noticed immediately as well, from the tell-tale wrinkle of his nose and the way he apologized and started forward to flick on the fans. 

It was funny, how Richard made that small commodity seem so important when air filtration was the least of their worries. 

It was rare for Damian’s older brother to avoid addressing a situation, especially one that seemed to be bothersome to those around him, yet it was clear the man was dreading confronting this issue. He probably didn’t know how, if Damian was to guess. 

“You’re probably hungry,” Grayson said suddenly, his eyes flicked around the room almost as if he was nervous. “I don’t think we have anything in the cabinets but I could order something? There’s that place down the street that you like, or-”

“Nothing will be open, Richard,” Damian interrupted, putting the older male out of his misery. “Besides, I am not very hungry.”

“Right, yeah,” Grayson said, rubbing the back of his neck in a state of awkwardness he had never before directed at his youngest brother. His eyes traveled again to Damian’s injuries. “Did you want some cream for those burns? Alfred should still have something around here somewhere…” Grayson trailed off, turning around and looking around the room for something promising. 

It was unnerving, seeing that uncharacteristic look of uncertainty from the person he expected it least. It was then that Damian decided he did not know how to handle this situation either. 

“Stop,” Damian instructed, voice soft yet firm. Directness had always been his initial reaction to awkwardness. 

Grayson melted immediately, tension leaving his shoulders and forehead creasing with concern. It was as if he had been waiting for his brother’s permission to relax. 

“Stop what, Dames?” He asked, just to be positive.

“Stop…” Damian paused, unsure. He wanted everything to return to normal- or, how it was before. He did not want his brother changing, he  _ could not  _ handle his brother’s sudden caution around him. Richard could not be like the others, not when he was all Damian had to hold on to. “They’ve already been taken care of so… Just, stop…”

“Please,” he added with slightly more hesitance.

But as always, he did not know how to ask.

Grayson understood Damian immediately, despite the gap in any straightforward communication. He had always been the best at reading in between Damian’s lines, after all. The elder male surged forward, with the same urgency he had carried earlier in the night, and embraced his littlest brother. 

“Okay, I’ll stop,” Grayson promised. “I know I was being weird, I’m sorry.” Damian leaned into the embrace just slightly, savoring the warmth and comfort that it offered. It was satisfying, as if the irritating itch that had been under his skin for so long was being healed and diminished by the touch alone. 

“Wanna watch a movie?” Grayson asked, looking down at Damian and pulling away slightly. “Just like old times?” He gently nudged Damian, a smile overtaking his face as he asked. It was genuine, Damian noticed, not forced like what the boy had recently become accustomed to seeing on others. 

Damian found himself nodding, agreeing with Richard’s silent pact to ignore all current problems until the morning. He was rather tired, anyhow, and Damian could see from the shadows under the man’s eyes that his older brother was as well. 

He allowed Richard to lead him to the couch, still covered in their favorite blankets and pillows from when they had previously lived there. It had been a mutual decision at the time, to leave all of their belongings in the penthouse as some sort of memorial. They did not want to disturb what they had created, nor did they believe the items that made up what had once been their home should ever reside in Wayne manor. 

In accordance with his usual mannerism, Grayson put on an animated film -something from Disney no doubt- and pulled Damian tightly to his side, so close that the boy was nearly in his lap. It was a privilege that Damian would allow no one else but him. With Richard, Damian was comfortable with nearly anything, and he was sure that nothing could ever harm him while he was in his oldest brother’s protective embrace.

Laying there, buried into Dick’s side with his fingers entangled in the man’s thin tee, Damian felt that familiar burn in his eyes returning. He wished, more deeply than should be possible, for this to be routine. Damian wanted to fall into Grayson’s embrace daily, he yearned to wake up to the man and go to sleep with him nearby. 

Damian wanted the impossible. 

Richard had been far different from all of the others. He had only thought of Damian in a selfless manner. Grayson had been the one to show Damian  _ true love. _ The kind of endless care that felt like a protective embrace, that had made Damian feel like Richard would always stand by his side. 

Until he had, Damian didn’t believe he was capable of love. Receiving or reciprocating it. Now that he had been enlightened, he never wanted to lose that feeling. 

“Hey, Dami, tell me whats wrong,” Grayson’s hand was suddenly under Damian’s chin, titling it upward. The man’s usually bright blue eyes were filled with worry. 

Damian blinked for a moment, confused a moment before he realized that a moisture had gathered on his cheeks. 

He hadn’t even realized that he had begun to cry. 

“I-I,” Damian started, shaking his head at his inability to explain. “Why can I not  _ stay _ ?” He cried, his voice choked with tears. 

“Oh,  _ sweetheart, _ ” Grayson cooed, the rarely used nickname lifting Damian’s heart even through his muffled sobs. Those names, the more intimate type, were reserved for only when Damian was especially upset or hurt. 

“Of course you can stay,” Richard promised. “You  _ are  _ staying.” 

Damian shook his head once more, refusing to accept what just  _ had  _ to be a lie. 

“I  _ cannot _ ,” Damian stressed.

Grayson stiffened slightly, but buried a hand into Damian’s thick hair, untangling it gently. 

“Damian,” Grayson started, voice firm. “Did Bruce… do anything?” 

It was the question that everyone wanted an answer to, but no one was asking. They had all just  _ assumed _ the answer and had taken action anyhow. No one had bothered to actually ask Damian, not until now. Of course it was Richard who was different. 

“Father has not done  _ anything _ !” Damian cried, exasperated. 

And that was the problem wasn’t it- that Bruce had not done a thing. He hadn’t been around to do anything to Damian, only seeing the boy for a few hours a day when they patrolled together, or on the rare occasions Bruce graced his son with his presence at the dinner table. 

Father had managed to do something by doing nothing at all. 

“What’s going on, bud?” Richard asked, confusion coating his features. He ran his hand through Damian’s baby soft hair once more before using his thumb to wipe the tears from the boy’s cheek.

Damian seemed to only be able to shake his head. He couldn’t explain, he would not allow himself to say what had really been bothering him- it was idiotic and childish that something so trivial would be able to hurt him so terribly. Too many people had seen through him already, he could not allow his older brother to see his weakness as well- even if Richard had been so accepting in the past. 

Grayson looked down at his little brother, eyes shining with tears. Damian cursed himself for causing such pain for his brother. Those tears, he knew, were entirely his doing. 

“It’s okay,” Richard promised, and Damian hated the way he was still gentle- he did not deserve that kindness. “We don’t have to talk about it. Not if you’re not ready.” Grayson soothed. 

Neither of them had any idea, however, when or if the boy would ever be ready.

-

When Damian woke in the morning his eyes were gummy and in addition to his headache, his head felt full- one of the many reasons he disliked crying. His lips were chapped from minor dehydration and he was forced to disentangle himself from his brother’s splayed limbs in order to retrieve a glass of water and use the restroom.

He found Richard in the kitchen when he returned, rifling through the cabinets for any scrap of food that may not have expired in the many months they had been gone. 

“Did I wake you?” Damian asked, approaching his brother. He had not been sure if Richard knew he was there and thought it best to try not to startle him. 

Dick pulled his head from the pantry to flash a smile in Damian’s direction.

“Nope, forgot to silence my phone,” Grayson said. Damian nodded, biting his lip to keep from asking  _ who  _ had been trying to contact him. He had a feeling that he already knew. 

“Well, it’s official,” Grayson continued from where he had re-entered the pantry. “We have nothing edible.”

“Of course not,” Damian responded. “Even your asinine sugar pellets would have spoiled by now.”

Dick pulled himself away from the empty shelves and turned to grin at his brother, chuckling. 

“My  _ cereal _ ,” he began, “is amazing. In fact” - he dared a finger to boop Damian’s nose - “none of it was even  _ left _ to go stale.” 

Damian scoffed, swatting at the offending hand. He found himself nearly grinning at the familiar,  _ comfortable _ , exchange. It was a feeling that he hadn’t had in far too long.

“Grocery store run?” Richard asked, leaning across the counter to look at the other boy. 

They hadn’t gone on a grocery store run together since they had lived in the penthouse. It had been a chore that they had mutually decided to relieve Alfred of- mostly because it was something they actually enjoyed doing together. It was fun, and if they went to one of the smaller supermarkets at a strange hour they were able to avoid the press. It was a moment to forget the capes and just be themselves- just Grayson and Damian for an hour or two.

It was like a breath of fresh air. 

Damian did grin then, if only slightly, and nodded.

“Good,” Richard decided. “We’ll just go to the corner store for now, since we just need the essentials. We can do a larger shop another time.”

_ Another time. _ As in they were staying long enough to need a wider selection of groceries. Grayson seemed to have caught himself as well, looking up at Damian with a quick glance. They hadn’t directly addressed the near future, not yet- and neither were quite positive of what that held for them. 

Neither were sure if they wanted to know.

Damian wondered if it had been the GCCPS that had rang his brother earlier that morning, but hoped that Grayson would have told him so if it had been. Damian thought he had the right to know, since it affected his life just as much as it did his older brother’s.

That was, if Grayson chose to  _ keep _ Damian, if the older male decided against it then it would alter his life not at all.

Damian shook the discomfort from himself and forced his eyes to meet his brother’s. 

“Shall we go now?” He asked, though he wasn’t as hungry as he thought he should be. Damian could not recall the last time he had eaten. 

“Sure,” Grayson nodded. “Got your coat?” 

Damian walked to his bag in response, pulling one of his thinner jackets from within. It was one that Richard had purchased for him nearly a year prior- and though the sleeves should now be far too short, it still fit him like a glove. That, his subconscious whispered to him, was probably not a good thing.

“I remember that,” Richard laughed as Damian pulled it on. “Isn’t that the coat we got you in Metropolis?” 

It was indeed; needed during a last minute trip to aid Superman. Damian had only the bare essentials then, and was not prepared for the colder winds found in either Gotham or Metropolis. Grayson had found the jacket only as a quick fix to tide him over, they had bought a larger one upon their return to their own city.

Damian still had that one as well, back in his bedroom at the manor. He wondered if he would ever see it again. 

“It’s a satisfactory garment,” Damian said approvingly, zipping it up. He grabbed his phone from his bag and slipped it into his pocket. Looking back up, he spots Richard looking at him quizzically, gaze traveling up and down Damian. 

“I’m surprised it still fits,” Grayson muttered. 

The two headed to the elevator like they had a million times before, as they had a year before. It felt natural, it felt normal- it felt  _ wrong.  _

Yesterday things had been so different. Damian would have been leaving for school at this time, fingers crossed with the naive belief that Father would miraculously appear at his juvenile art show. 

School, Damian suddenly remembered, was still in session. 

“Should we instead go to the academy?” Damian asked, though he did not want to. He remembered Richard’s insistence that he attend school. 

“Not today, I already called in,” Grayson answered, pushing the elevator button for the garage that they had parked in the previous night. 

“What for?” Damian found himself asking.

“Dames,” Grayson sighed. “There are some things that we need to figure out today.” 

Damian scowled, he knew  _ that.  _ It's all that he had been thinking of, all that he had been  _ fearing.  _ He had hoped for some specificity, crossed his fingers that Grayson would ease some of those fears by telling him what exactly had been going on. Damian stayed quiet, however, only giving a curt nod before focusing instead on his red converse. They looked dirty, and one of the laces was untied. 

He didn’t bother to fix it.

-

Grayson had not improved his dietary choices in the slightest. In fact, once again living as a bachelor -and without the influence of Pennyworth- has almost  _ worsened  _ his pallet. 

The man still chose sugary cereals, peanut butter and jelly toast, and pop-tarts. He did however surprise Damian by selecting a carton of eggs and some fruits as well.

The elder chose no meat items, which Damian took notice of, and picked up multiple packages of salad greens and tofu. 

By the dairy section Grayson grinned down at his younger brother and used his head to gesture at the large variety of ice cream.

“I think we deserve it,” Grayson defended. 

Damian provided no rebuttal, but instead riffled through the different flavors of the superior brand (Ben and Jerry’s of course) before coming away with multiple pints of goodness. Damian loathed to admit that he had quite the sweet tooth- Grayson had corrupted him.

It was in just before checkout that Damian’s mood was slightly soured. Dick took a closer look at the boy, up and down before dropping some nutritional  _ children’s  _ beverage into their cart. He hadn’t even attempted to be subtle about it. 

As they were loading their haul into the car, Grayson’s phone went off again. It had been buzzing all morning; before they had left and during their time at the shops. 

Richard would slip the device out, hold it close to himself and at a height to which Damian was unable to see the screen, then quickly punch out a response. 

It was beyond irritating.

Damian wished to ask who it was, or if it’s content related to him -though he guessed it did- but he did not wish to breach his brother’s privacy. He did, contrary to popular belief, have an understanding of boundaries. 

The boy worried, though, that the transfer was secretive to spare his feelings. He imagined Richard communicating via email with the agency, working out a different placement for the problematic little weakling he was forced to call his brother.

If he was Richard Grayson, Damian does not think he would have even collected him the night before. 

“Any music requests?” Grayson asked once they were both seated in the car. He allowed Damian to be in the front, since the store was so near to Wayne tower. 

“I don’t have a preference,” Damian murmured.

In accordance to the boy’s usual taste, however, the radio was flicked to a station with soft instrumentals; something relaxing and not overly exciting for the early morning. 

Damian allowed his head to slump against the seat back, not quite tall enough to reach the head rest. He felt his never ending headache slowly worsening, but wasn’t sure if it was from stress or lack of food.

Beside him, Grayson hummed along to the orchestra, swaying with the melody. 

Damian wished to pause time so that he could stay in this moment forever. 

It felt like this was the calm before the inevitable hurricane that was destined to come. Before the storm that would truly tear the last, strained pieces of Damian’s world apart.

(If he was able to freeze time then the clock would not be ticking close to his departure. Richard had told him that he could stay, but the insistent and secretive texting had no other explanation. Damian did not want to leave the safety being with his brother provided, but he knew he had no alternative. -No one else would be willing to house him.)

Alas they pulled into their spot at the tower and the boys were forced to pull themselves from the car to bring their groceries upstairs. 

It was a larger amount than Damian had been picturing and he wondered how come Richard would have spent the money if so much food for such a short time.

It took two trips to carry everything from the car to their private elevator, and would take two trips to remove as well. It was exhausting, and taking nearly all of the energy Damian could muster. Recently- that was hardly anything at all. 

The elevator chimed and the doors slid apart, revealing the open kitchen and slightly more distant living room. 

Damian nearly jumped and dropped the shopping bag he was holding when he noticed Cassandra propped on top of the counter. 

Even more shockingly; sitting on a bar stool, with a guilty expression and an obvious itch to bolt, was none other than Timothy Drake. 


	2. Burning Bridges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Damian are forced to confront "the incident" and some misunderstandings are brought to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait, I have been plagued by the much dreaded writer’s block… This chapter was very challenging for me for reasons I will never understand. That said, it’s out (better late than never), even if it’s treading on “filler chapter”. I hope you all understand and can enjoy this very belated update.
> 
> Warnings for very vague suicide ideation and thoughts of self worthlessness scattered throughout the chapter and at the end.

Damian stumbled from the elevator in surprise, not having expected company so soon. Even more so, he had not seen Cassandra in  _ months _ and was unaware she had returned to Gotham and therefore her presence was, admittedly, a little startling. 

Grayson’s features, however, were void of any confusion. The older man glided into the room almost as if he had already been alerted of his younger siblings’ supposedly spontaneous visit. Perhaps  _ they  _ were who Richard had been corresponding with throughout the morning- that would have made sense as well as soothe Damian’s nerves about any further interactions with the social worker.

Grayson grinned and moved to place the groceries he was handling onto the counter next to Cassandra. She smiled kindly at him, her personal silent greeting. She folded her legs up onto the counter and poked through the grocery bags. She hummed, pulling out some of the groceries that the boys had just purchased. No one spoke for the first few moments, and the thick silence was severed only by the shuffling of the paper bags.

“How was your trip, Cass?” Grayson finally asked, just a moment before Damian was sure the silence would have suffocated him. 

“Good,” Cassandra smiled back. Her grin was little more than the upturn of her lips, but it had still come miles from what it once was. She and Damian were very similar in that way- filled with small changes and progressions that were only visible to those who knew them the best. 

“Everything good at W.E.?” Grayson continued, looking at Tim now. The young businessman picked up his gaze from where it had previously been directed at the floor.

“Busy as ever,” Drake’s voice was tight with something Damian was unable to pinpoint. “The board is still driving me to insanity.”

Typically, that would be where Damian would step out from the elevator, chin upturned as he poked fun at the sibling closest to him in age. If recent events hadn’t occurred perhaps he  _ would _ have insisted that Drake could not be driven to insanity if he was already there. Except things  _ weren’t  _ as they usually were, and Damian felt frozen to his spot within the lift. 

“Are you waiting for the doors to close on you, Dames?” Richard asked with a forced grin. He had only just noticed his youngest sibling’s stillness. It seemed his half-hearted humor, however, was not enough to lighten the heavy tension in the room. 

Wilting slightly under the unwanted attention, Damian shook himself out of his stupor and shuffled slowly into the room. 

“I was not informed that there would be company,” he managed. Drake, he noticed, looked down instead of meeting Damian’s eyes. 

“Neither was I,” Grayson admits, though the man’s grin lessens, it doesn't cross over to a frown either. Damian, however,  _ does _ frown at the revelation. If Grayson hadn’t known Cassandra and Drake would be visiting then he had most likely  _ not  _ been conversing with them throughout the morning.

Which meant he had to have been contacting the social worker. 

A fearful fire sparked in Damian’s chest. It worked its way to his stomach and settled into a nauseating weight in his abdomen. It hurt to imagine what Grayson could have been discussing with that horrid woman, about how his eldest brother had most probably been planning Damian’s impending return to the agency. The boy curled in on himself knowing that if he were in Grayson’s shoes, he would rid himself of the burden as soon as possible. Now more convinced than he had been before, Damian shivered at the thought of his quickly approaching departure, his arms coming across his torso in a self-hug. 

“Needed to come,” Cassandra supplied, bringing her legs up onto the counter with her before turning to better face Drake. “Little brother?” She asked. 

Drake swallowed, his thin fingers gripping the edge of the counter with such force that they turned white at the tips and knuckles. The teen looked quickly at Cassandra before gazing anxiously at Richard. 

“Not him,” Cassandra sighed when she noticed who his eyes were fixed on. Drake nodded, breathing deeply before facing Damian.

“I’m here to… apologize for the other night,” he managed, looking down at his hands again. Now that Damian was able to see Drake’s face fully, he noticed that the actions he may have previously mistaken for nervousness were actually poor attempts at hiding obvious anger. 

The youngest brother scuffed his foot against the hardwood floor in response. He did  _ not  _ wish to speak of that night, especially if Drake was  _ already _ angered.

“What happened the other night?” Grayson cut in, unable to help himself. Damian figured that the man must have pieced together the clues. He would have realized that a few days ago would have lined up with one of the nights that Grayson had insisted he and Drake stay together alone. 

How he had assumed any good would have been able to come from that, Damian had no idea.

“There was an altercation,” Damian supplied when Drake stayed quiet. Though, he had no intention of providing anymore information. 

Grayson’s eyes narrowed at the admission. Conflicts between Tim Drake and Damian Wayne were hardly ever a small matter. They were Bats, after all. 

“What happened?” Grayson asked, turning back to Drake as if sensing Damian would offer nothing else.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” the older boy huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back on the barstool. “We just blew it out of proportion.” Damian’s stomach clenched at the accusation of “ _ we”- _ Drake had done all of the accusing _. _

_ “Honest,” _ Cassandra hissed at Drake.

The teen sighed heavily, shoulders drooping with exhaustion. His fingers gripped the counter impossibly tighter. 

“Damian tripped me when I was coming from the kitchen,” Drake explained, glaring at the smaller boy. “When I was holding a cup of  _ hot _ coffee.” He finished, cheeks flushed with barely contained rage.

Richard’s brow furrowed as he considered this, eyes flicking to Cassandra momentarily- as if searching for validation. When she gave a single nod, he turned to his youngest sibling.

“Is that true, Dami?” He asked, voice heavily laced with disappointment. Damian felt the emptiness in himself grow, he didn’t know what to say. If he denied Drake’s accusation he might avoid punishment, but he worried that Grayson wouldn’t believe him if he did. Damian was known to make trouble, especially in situations involving Drake. Damian wasn’t sure he could take the hurt of Grayson not trusting him enough to believe him over the other boy. 

Besides, he  _ had  _ tripped Drake. Not intentionally, not  _ that  _ time at least, but Damian was unsure if Grayson would even care for details such as those. 

He decided he could take the punishment, it was easier than the heartbreak Grayson distrust was sure to bring. Damian was good at punishment, what was a little more? He was leaving anyway, what did it matter?

So he steeled himself and nodded. 

Grayson’s face dropped, what little hope he had been holding onto that Damian had changed disappearing.

“Damian,” he groaned, his voice laced with disappointment. “I thought we had finally moved past this!”

Hanging his head, Damian looked to his feet. In his chest bubbled a painful ball of  _ hurt.  _ He would forever be seen as evil, as an assassin, as the  _ Demon Brat _ . He ripped things apart, he destroyed everything he touched. That’s all he was good for and he was starting to learn it was better to accept that and it’s repercussions than to try and deny his fault. 

Even if it hurt worse than dying.

Damian knew he should have said something; “ _ I’m sorry”  _ or something else that might lessen whatever punishment Grayson was formulating. Even a nod to rid the older man of that look of pure  _ disappointment _ he was giving Damian. No matter how many times the boy received that look he would never be able to grow used to it. 

Even so, Damian was unable to force any words from his lips. No apologies or characteristic denial, all he seemed capable of in the moment was hanging his head. His shoes, it appeared, were much easier to look at. 

“Damian,” Grayson snapped, eyes still narrowed in disapproval. He was waiting for  _ something  _ from the youngest Wayne and just when Damian thought the emptiness inside of him would consume him before he would be able to pacify Richard, Cassandra cut in. 

“There… is more,” she said, looking once again at Drake. Damian continued to look down at the discarded shopping bags by his feet. He willed the floor to swallow him or for the two to leave or at least to stop talking. Drake had done enough, couldn’t he see that? What else could he have had to say that would be able to make the situation even worse than it was?    


When Damian gathered the nerve it took to force his gaze upward, however, he saw something he was unprepared for. Drake didn’t look mischievous, he wasn’t even smirking. Instead, the older boy was fingering the cuffs of his ridiculously oversized sweatshirt as if  _ he  _ was nervous. 

“What, Tim?” Grayson asked, voice soft. Damian wished that tone could be directed at him, just one more time. 

“Well…” Drake started, pausing to swallow before continuing. “I was kind of a jerk, too.” He admitted. 

“What do you mean, Timmy?”    


“Well, we were both coming around the corner and there was  _ no way _ that I could have seen him coming and...”

“And?” Richard pushed.

“And, well… The impact kinda, accidentally knocked my coffee all over Damian when he fell.” Drake admitted, looking and sounding small. Damian wondered where the teen’s previous growing fire had disappeared to. 

Richard looked impossibly  _ more  _ puzzled than he already had. Damian was always graceful in his hurtful tactics, it was unlike him to be anything but- Grayson  _ knew  _ this. He  _ had _ to know this or Damian would need a new plan of escape. 

“What really happened, Dames?” Grayson’s voice was much softer than it had been before, but his tone was still not quite as tender as it usually was with the boy. 

“I- I…” Damian looked at his adoptive siblings around him. They were all looking at him expectantly. Trying to read through whatever lie they were probably expecting him to spit out. Accidents, as it was, were far less probable than a well planned assault on his least favored brother. He supposed  _ that  _ was why he was unsure of what to say. They were sure to believe Drake before him, anyway- why embarrass himself trying to prove otherwise?

A rebuttal wasn’t needed after all, however, when Grayson’s eyes suddenly grew to the size of large dinner saucers and he surged forward, arms outstretched. Damian took only a small step back before forcing himself to pause and shut his eyes, accepting whatever blow was coming his direction. Instead of a hit, he was surprised to feel the tender prodding of Richard’s large and calloused fingers against his neck and collar bone. 

Directly on top of the healing burn wounds and scratched he had been so pressing about the previously. 

“That's what these are from, isn’t it, Dami?” Richard asked, kneeling before the small boy and lips downturning in empathy.

Damian nodded, shoulders falling in relief and resolve absolutely  _ crumbling.  _

Tears poured from the boys eyes, bottled up throughout the past few months, years,  _ lifetime.  _ His chest heaved, large gulps of breath doing nothing to soothe the tightness in his chest. Damian keened, making a noise so pathetic and broken that it caused all of the other occupants of the room to openly wince. 

In response, Damian attempted to pull away from Richard’s hold. He needed to get away, he needed to leave before they saw him- before they realized how weak he was being and tried to stop it. There was no holding the tears back, not at this point, and the only other option for safety was to flee before his siblings were able to gather their bearings.

He pulled again against Grayson’s grip but the man was unrelenting. His hand was not squeezing Damian’s arm in a way that hurt, but one that made sure he could not leave. Instead, the man pulled the boy to his chest, wrapping arms tightly around the tiny, shaking frame. Damian thrashed weakling in a halfhearted attempt at escape, fear still evident.

“It’s okay to cry,” Richard hummed, “Everything’s okay. Let it out.”

The room around them slowly slipped away until there was nothing more than he and Richard. Cassandra and Drake melted into the background, growing distant as Damian became swarmed by his emotions- continuously growing more distraught the tighter his eldest brother held onto him.

“I know it was just an accident,” Richard continued, one hand clutching the small boy almost desperately while the other rubbed calming circles onto Damian’s back. “No harm done, kiddo.”

Damian was unsure how Dick knew that the ordeal had been nothing more than an accident, but the older man seemed so sure in his revelation. As if he had been oblivious to all of Damian’s previous misdemeanors. 

It was that small show of trust though, that made Damian yearn to collapse into the man. He wanted nothing more than to cease the facade he had been holding since the moment he was first introduced to his father. He no longer wanted to feel as if he had to protect himself with a sharp demeanor, he was  _ exhausted _ and all he wanted to do was stop being afraid. 

He had been pushed to the point that he would do  _ anything _ to stop the growing weight inside of him. If all he was capable of becoming was a disappointment and a burden, then why go to Apokolips to bring him back at all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger! I needed a smaller chapter as a stepping stone to the rest of the story and though this installment is not my favorite, it was needed for plot development. I hope to try my very best to stick to a longer length and more consistent schedule in the future. I am doing my best and I thank everyone for being so understanding.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who worried that this series had been abandoned, I promise I will not do that. I’ve actually put together an uploading schedule; there will be new installments every other Monday at 18:00 EST. I will do my absolute best to post as close to that time as I can but please be patient with me! 
> 
> For those peeking at my dashboard, there will be five chapters in this fic and three in the next for the main plot. If I choose to take requests or add some one shots to this series later on, I may do so, but it will not be my priority. As of now I am planning to wrap up this series before finally finishing DNA. 
> 
> If you want to talk (about anything) or have requests for my Scrapbook, come yell at me on tumblr :)
> 
> -
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> Comments are my coffee. 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy <3
> 
> Nudge me on tumblr @solarcelest


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